Author's Note: I apologize for the formatting on the first chapter. It's been several years since posting any writing on this site so I'm adjusting to the new process.

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based story. DBZ is owned by Fuji TV, Toei Animation, Funimation, and Akira Toriyama. Please support the original manga and animation releases.

Chapter 2

The sun beamed brightly through the bedroom window, forcing me to pull the covers over my head and roll back to my spot on the bed. I was only able to rest for another minute before I could feel the cold noses and wagging tails of the two sharing my bed, clearly wanting their breakfast. Sitting up and finally opening my eyes, I was happily pounced on and drenched in kisses before finally swinging my feet to the floor.

"Morning you mongrels," I growled as I ruffled my hands through their fur. The bigger female, Balla, quickly hopped off the bed and stretched out, ready to take on the day. The smaller pup, Lati, rolled to her back for a belly scratch. How could I resist the cuteness?

We made our way down to the kitchen. Impatient as ever, they ran down and back, waiting for the bowls to be filled. I started the Keurig up for my morning latte as they scarfed down their food. A few moments later they were fed and my latte poured into the cup.

"We still have a few minutes, let's head outside!" I whistled to them. The machine always brewed too hot for my tongue to handle, so other chores were a great way to kill time for it to cool. Both dogs bolted for the back door. I grabbed my sweater and slipped my old shoes on before heading out back. My grey pajama pants started to dampen as I trudged through the grass glistening with morning dew. The dogs ran about, tails wagging and noses sniffing before finally catching up with me to the gate. Putting my arms over the wooden planks, my hands were greeted with another set of soft noses, sniffing and licking, searching for breakfast. My hands pulled out the treats from my sweater.

"Morning boys, do we deserve treats today?" The two looming heads were suddenly over the fence, looking for their fair share of the goodies. The first was a big blonde quarter horse. The true color was Palomino, but I swore there was such a small brain in his head that I just referred to him as the blonde. My hand hid the treat from his view, but his nose was much better than that. His lips forced between my fingers and grabbed the treat, munching away happily before searching for more. "Alright Star, you are way too impatient…" I teased his lip before digging another treat out. A moment later another nose was in my face, looking for his treat as well. "Okay Artie, you know where it is…" I slipped the treat between my teeth and put my hands behind my back. His nose quickly went up to my face and ever so gently pulled the treat from my lips, munching happily as well. Artie was a grey Arabian. His coat was covered in liver-colored speckling, giving him the flea-bitten grey color.

And both of these boys were old. Well over 24 by now, having gotten them when I was in late high school and keeping them all the way through college and then some. Both were still in great shape and retired pets at this point, but I didn't mind taking them off of my mother's hands now. She wasn't able to care for them as well as I could now thanks to the house I bought.

I looked back to the dogs still running around the yard. Lati was still near the fence, unsure of whether to try to play with the horses or not. But Balla seemed to wander to the other side of the yard and just barely in the tree line. At first I didn't mind as the 25 acres were mine with no neighbors for a half mile, but she seemed oddly intrigued by something just out of my view. Handing the last treats I carried with me to the horses, I decided to check it out. Lati stayed at my heels as we crossed the large yard, calling out to see if Balla would come back.

"Whatcha find? Hopefully nothing dead…that would be a terrible start to the day." But as I got closer, I saw nothing out of the norm. She was sniffing and hovering over what just looked like a downed tree. I looked at the foliage on the ground and saw it was a branch and a large one too. I looked back to the maple it still clung to and shook my head. The branch was easily thicker than my leg and looked like it was snapped down from a heavy weight. "Figures, gonna need a chainsaw to bring the rest of that down. I wonder what hit it." I glanced at the branch, not seeing anything sizable enough to pull such a feat… but then the sun reflected off something under the leaves. A black form was hidden among the greenery, but not enough for me to see. I grabbed a few of the weak branches and pulled it back. The black forms were only a part of a much larger mass I realized, and why I couldn't see it became clear. Large green-spotted parts were draped over the massive branch camouflaged perfectly by the leaves. Pulling more branches aside I saw the green shell clearly and my mind was already piecing together the image. Seeming too ridiculous to be true I started breaking branches back until I saw the solid proof before me. The arm that hung off the side had a very pale hand with jet black nails at the end of each finger.

I held my breath. Almost panicked. There was no way that this was who it appeared to be, and yet my mind was screaming; I was able to see and practically reach out and touch one of the most powerful beings to exist. Suddenly the dogs poked their noses through, trying to see what I was just discovering and my gut instinct took over.

"STOP! Back up! Back!" I shouted, grabbing both dogs by their scruffs and hauling them out. I went straight back to the house, both dogs clearly confused with the situation but obeying. I was caught between panicking and excitement, but I couldn't risk the dogs waking someone that could kill them with a flick of a wrist. As soon as I closed the door behind them I went back to the edge of the woods before stopping and taking a deep breath.

'This is insane if this is really him… If he wakes up, this is the last day I'll see. I'm sure of it…' my mind rationalized. I was really going to go back in and chance the entire planet. All of humanity. Gone in a blink of an eye.

"Ya know, just to see that power in full action… I guess it would be worth my last day." Silently apologizing to the rest of the world, I ran back to the downed branch. Kneeling down I started breaking branch after branch, revealing more proof of his existence. I started to shake with the effort I needed with the larger branches, and yet I kept going, needing to know if this was real or not. The large branch gave way and finally got the most of the leaves out of the way. I sat in shock as it revealed the rest of him facedown on the branch he took out on his way down. The ordeal clearly left him out cold, a fact that actually shocked me. If this is someone capable of taking down armies and fighting with the levels of Goku and Gohan, how did a tree branch take him out? Aside from a bit of dust and scratches on the armor, he seemed fine.

A loud crack made me jump and scream a bit louder than I wanted to admit to, but looking back at the source let me breathe again. The branch hung from the tree still and my efforts moving the branch made it crack away a bit more. I looked back to the unconscious figure, not sure of my next options. Do I try to wake him? Do I leave him until he wakes on his own? Lord knows I would never be able to kill him, not even in this state…

A quiet groan startled me, but this time was justified. I shuffled back a few steps, putting a bit of space between us, but I knew it really didn't matter. A few hundred miles would be more realistic. A few moments passed with no other sounds, so I took a chance and got closer. Crouching down I pulled a few of the leftover twigs and leaves from his head, finally feeling safe enough to do so. A few more moments passed before I felt myself take a breath, noticing I was taking them a lot more cautiously than normal. I let my nerve and curiosity get the better of my judgement and finally called out quietly, "Hey, can you hear me?"

Nothing. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing.

"Hey, wake up. Hey!" I kept it quieter than a shout, but still raising my voice hoping to snap him out of it. Do I even dare call him by name?

"Hey, you need to wake up! You can't be out here!" I attempted to shake the branch he was on, only to find I couldn't budge it. Not even a shake. I was realizing just how heavy he might have been since the branch barely clung to the trunk. More force was definitely necessary, but how would it pan out if he woke at that moment? I decided to chance it. I wasn't risking anyone else on the property other than myself. I reached my hand out, balancing myself with my left, about to take the biggest risk of my life. I took another breath. I jerked my hand back again, rethinking it. But then reached out again.

"Geez, just fucking do it!" I finally psyched myself.

My hand shoved down on his shoulder, calling out again, "Hey, are you there!? Come on, wake up!" His body rocked again and I shoved one more time, really not sure if I wanted him to wake or not…

His eyes snapped open and quickly started gasping for breaths, coughing and making small efforts to move. I backpedaled faster than I thought I could move as he woke. The branch creaked and splintered with each small shift, threatening to give way. I stared from my seat, shaking from holding myself up with one arm, the other ready to defend myself if need be. I watched another moment as he struggled, clearly not going anywhere quickly. I finally inched closer, daring to look him in the eye, but he didn't seem to notice me just yet. Or that he didn't care, I couldn't tell which.

"You alright?" I dared to ask. The eye I could see locked with mine as he spoke.

"Where am I?" It was quiet and almost took everything he had to ask. It was nothing like the clean deep voice I was used to hearing on TV. I thought hard before answering in a way that might make some sense.

"Nowhere near the tournament, that's for sure. You're not in that world anymore." The confused look crossed his features for a moment before taking a deeper breath and trying to move again. The effort it was taking to even move his hand was shocking. He hadn't even tried to lift his head to look around. Finally my voice came back and the millions of questions I had started to surface.

"What happened? How did you end up here?" I didn't expect an answer right away, but more than several moments passed before I crept a bit closer. There was still foliage that covered a fair portion of him, but I finally got a better look at the armor, the build, and the wings draped over his form.

"You really are him, aren't you? This isn't a prank or joke…" I started finding some force in my voice, no longer shaking as much but still ready to bolt out of there. He stayed still, not even trying to answer me. At this point I really wanted an answer.

"Seriously, are you really…Cell!?" I finally choked it out. I hadn't dared say it yet fearing it would somehow make him spring up and blow up the world, but nothing happened. He said nothing. I waited a bit, hoping he would at least try to make some conversation, but he was being stubborn. I was losing my patience. If he was able to destroy the world I do believe he would have done it by now. Especially considering the Cell Games weren't done yet…

That sparked an idea. Perhaps I would get a reaction, maybe not the one I want, but at least he would definitely engage me after this accusation.

"Well I'm sure glad Goku put you in your place!" I announced, standing up to try to assert some sense of control. "Good to know Earth's hero came through for us after all; he would never let someone like you take this planet for yourself to do God-knows-what with it!"

"How dare you, you insolent human!" he shouted back, though with the angle and lack of breath it seemed more like a ragged gasp. I froze, fearing what I had done was going to be the end of me.

"Your hero…do you know what your 'hero' did before… we were interrupted!?" he hissed, his eye narrowing at me with each strained line. I waited, almost certain of what was to follow.

"He gave up! Threw the fight! Left your precious planet's fate to me! What do you think of your 'hero' now, girl!?" Again, it could seem threatening if he were able to get the sentence out without struggling to breathe. I sat back down; suddenly feeling like this was going to be the breakthrough I wanted. I sighed and took one deep breath before retorting.

"I know he gave up. But leaving the planet's fate to you?" I raised an eyebrow to ensure how insane his claim was. "You really think Goku would just leave the fight without a plan? You can't really believe that," I laughed. Only a small chuckle, but still managed to find the humor in the situation. The statement definitely caught him off-guard with that look he gave me.

"How could you possibly know that?" he growled low, but still sounded more curious rather than angry. Pondering his question, I leaned back on my hands and shifted my weight onto my knees.

"Honestly, it would be much easier to explain this whole thing back in the house with my laptop. But you're not going to like what you might learn from it," I explained. How was he going to take the fact that the Cell Games, originally designed to determine the fate of humanity in that world, was nothing more than an entertaining show for us? And obviously he would want to know who wins it all…

"Don't lecture me human, I'm far more advanced in understanding the universe than you could ever hope to achieve."

"I don't think even Dr. Gero could predict this outcome," I smirked at the concept. And hopefully mentioning his creator might make him understand how well informed I may have been. He seemed to let the statement sink in before responding.

"You know more than you're letting on," he started. As if I was going to spill all of the years' worth of manga, animes and movies that had been based off of the world he just got yanked out of; no, I really wanted to know what I was really risking by sharing any info.

"And you won't hear a word of it if you stay out here. Let me help you up and then we can talk," I offered casually.

"I will take no help from a human." He took another deep breath and attempted to lift himself up, but to no avail.

"And you look like you're getting nowhere fast." That glare he sent my way actually made me jump a bit.

"I will not repeat myself!" he half-shouted, finally finding a bit more power behind his voice. I shuddered a bit from it as he finally started to reflect more of what he was really like from the series. I waited, not sure how to respond at first, but then stood up and brushed myself off.

"Alright, suit yourself. I'll drop by tomorrow though, give you a day to think it over," I mused at my own lightheartedness of the situation. Really, though, the idea that he wouldn't be here in the morning nagged in the back of my mind. Without giving another moment to reconsider, I stepped back into the yard. I went back to the horses and took out their hay for the day and slipped back into the house. Glancing at the counter I saw my ice cold latte waiting for me. I dumped it out, decided it was a good day for alcohol and spent the rest of the day pulling out my laptop and anime collection.

"Might as well have all the materials ready when he gives in."

Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback is more than welcome! :)